Youn Yuh-jung

Youn Yuh-jung
윤여정
Youn in February 2026
Born (1947-06-19) June 19, 1947
Kaesong, Gyeonggi Province, southern Korea
(now Kaesong, North Korea)
Other namesYoon Yeo-jeong
Education
OccupationActress
Years active1966–present
AgentCreative Artists Agency (USA)
Spouse
(m. 1974; div. 1987)
Children2
AwardsBest Supporting Actress at the 93rd Academy Awards
Honours Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit (2021)
Korean name
Hangul
윤여정
Hanja
尹汝貞
RRYun Yeojeong
MRYun Yŏjŏng

Youn Yuh-jung (Korean: 윤여정; pronounced [jun jʌdʑʌŋ]; born June 19, 1947) is a South Korean actress. Youn gained attention on Korean television in the late 1960s and rose to prominence with the film Woman of Fire (1971). She retired in the mid-1970s after marrying and immigrating to the United States, but returned to acting in the late 1980s following her divorce. Known as the “Godmother of Chungmu-ro,” Youn's notable films include The Housemaid (2010), The Taste of Money (2012), The Bacchus Lady (2016), Canola (2016), as well as a series of matriarch roles in TV dramas Men of the Bath House (1995), Be Strong, Geum-soon! (2005), Daughters-in-Law (2007), My Husband Got a Family (2012), and Dear My Friends (2016). She gained international recognition for her role in Minari (2020), becoming the first Korean actress to win a Screen Actors Guild Award, an Independent Spirit Award, a British Academy Film Award, and an Academy Award, all for Best Supporting Actress.